Business Day in South Africa on 10th May reported that a constant in the years of US and EU sanctions was Chinese help, with everything from building rails to manufacturing wagons. It says that the JCPOA nuclear deal hasn’t delivered more than a trickle of Western investment — and even that is poised to dry up, after President Donald Trump pulled out of the agreement and said he’ll re-impose sanctions. To develop its $430 billion economy, Iran is being forced to rely on political allies in the east. Trade with China has more than doubled since 2006, to $28 billion. The biggest proportion of Iran’s oil exports go to China, about $11 billion a year at current prices. Chinese direct investment is arriving too, though reliable data is harder to come by.
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